Are “nature” schools possible in the city?
More than 80% of the French population lives in urban areas, and with it, the vast majority of schools. How, then, can we enable most students to benefit from these outdoor classes that are increasingly being discussed? Can “school in nature” truly become the educational revolution of the 21st century?
Sylvain Wagnon, University of Montpellier
This article was co-authored with Corine Martel, an educational consultant and director of the EducNatu’re center in Restinclières, as well as a lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Montpellier.
First, let’s remember that while the term “nature” implies a place where greenery outweighs concrete, it’s also important to focus our attention on the small green spaces and parks found in the city. We must not forget that beneath the asphalt lies the earth.
Despite urban densification, nature is all around us, all the time—whether in parks, community gardens, trees lining a street or planted on rooftops, and even in the sky, where invisible biodiversity thrives (bacteria, fungi, and yeasts carried by water droplets). The current policy of greening urban spaces opens up new opportunities for teachers.
With the proliferation of strategic projects labeled “nature city,” “green city, ” or “green and blue infrastructure, ” the goal is to build a more resilient city and limit the effects of global warming. In urban areas, this translates into reducing urban heat islands through the planting of trees and the installation of green roofs. All of these elements serve as drivers and resources for outdoor learning in the city.
Outdoor Learning in the City: A Real Need
The enthusiasm for outdoor schooling cannot be attributed solely to the health crisis and lockdown we experienced; learning in and with nature is both a necessity and a need. Indeed, beyond the concept of “nature deficit disorder,” studies clearly demonstrate the benefits of nature for mental well-being, overall health, and creativity—all of which are fundamental to a harmonious education that respects the needs and biological rhythms of children and adolescents.
Urban densification has clearly reduced the connection between people and their environments. Combined with an increasingly sedentary lifestyle—which confines children to cramped spaces—this trend has only widened the gap between young children and nature, even as they long to move around, run, and enjoy recreational spaces.
In most disciplines, curricula emphasize—particularly through environmental education—an understanding of the connections between human beings and nature. Marie Jacqué highlights the importance of teachers’ diverse conceptions of nature. Indeed, this may involve the idea of a nature without the human species: a nature to be respected and preserved for its own sake. From this perspective, a sensitive approach to nature is prioritized.
But nature can also be viewed as an ecosystem to be understood in terms of the relationships between living things. This approach effectively promotes cooperative teaching methods, peer interaction, and mutual support.
In any case, teachers who practice this “outdoor school” approach in urban areas choose to ground their lessons as closely as possible in reality, so that their students can make on-site observations that will serve as a foundation for classroom learning. For, paradoxically, the impact of human development can reveal biodiversity consisting of refuges for certain animal and plant species following the destruction of natural habitats. This is how projects that support biodiversity—such as Educational Land Areas, the ABCs of Biodiversity, and the E3D certification for schools and educational institutions—can be developed in urban areas.
Moreover, this trend is not limited to the school setting but is also being implemented in after-school programs with the creation of adventure playgrounds—educational spaces that allow children to engage with natural environments.
Walking and Greening Class
The “classroom walk” is one of the most iconic and obvious activities in outdoor education. It is part of French educational history and a hallmark of a vibrant school. In the early20th century, educators Élise and Célestin Freinet revived this activity, making it a hallmark of their pedagogy by giving it a multidisciplinary focus and allowing children to truly take charge of their own learning. This walk provides an opportunity to develop children’s awareness of the environment and to encourage direct interaction with nature. For the Freinets, this activity served as a catalyst for radically transforming teaching methods and learning processes by fostering mutual support, sharing, and cooperation among children.
Today, it can serve as a tool for developing this “school with nature in the city.” While administrative requirements can sometimes make it difficult for a class to go outside, the goal is not to go far away, but rather to observe the immediate surroundings, where nature is present in all its forms.
The current trend toward greening school playgrounds offers an opportunity to expand outdoor learning right within school grounds. The benefits extend beyond simply creating flexible learning environments; they also include developing spaces that are more resilient to climate change. This also helps mitigate flood risks in certain cities and creates corridors for animal species to move through.
Transitioning from a paved playground to a naturalized one—bringing nature into the playground—is an opportunity to rethink teaching practices by creating a vegetable garden or a flower garden and implementing subject-specific or interdisciplinary projects at all levels of elementary and secondary school. Easy access and the absence of specific administrative requirements make it possible to transform these green spaces into hubs for learning, offering opportunities for reading, math practice, or simply relaxing in nature during lunch breaks.
Transforming the way you teach requires a fundamental reflection on what you want to do and what you are capable of doing. It is a Velvet Revolution in the sense that, ultimately, these changes do not represent a break with his previous teaching but rather a fluid and complementary process.
Sylvain Wagnon, Full Professor of Education, School of Education, University of Montpellier
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Readthe original article.